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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. degree — an amount
  3. date — the fruit
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stock — shares
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. degree — from a university
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. firm — decided
  13. wind — moving air
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. firm — steady
  17. stock — goods
  18. content — happy
  19. firm — a company
  20. content — the amount
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com